Psychology (Functional Area: Clinical-Developmental)

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Open Access
A Feasibility Study of Working Memory Training for Individuals With Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis
(2016-09-20) Kuni, Bravina Jennifer; Till, Christine
Cognitive impairment occurs in up to half of children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS), and may be severe enough to compromise intellectual functioning, academic performance, and daily life function. Working memory (WM), which refers to the cognitive system that temporarily stores information long enough to use while manipulating the information for some purpose, is one of the major executive functions found to be compromised in pediatric-onset MS patients. The current dissertation sought to introduce a computerized cognitive training program (Cogmed) that is novel to the MS population in order to investigate feasibility, subjective experiences, and individual characteristics related to training outcomes, as well as examine preliminary efficacy of Cogmed in pediatric-onset MS patients. This dissertation employed mixed methods comprising Cogmed-specific training outcomes, performance on pre- and post-training neuropsychological assessment measures, and patient exit interviews. Pediatric-onset MS individuals who were identified as having cognitive difficulties (n = 9) underwent 5-6 weeks of intensive, home-based computerized training on verbal and visual-spatial WM exercises. Patients demonstrated general adherence and tolerance to Cogmed training, and completed training within the recommended 5-6 week timeframe. Almost all patients acknowledged changes in their WM performance as a result of training (n =8), and all patients (n = 9) described the training program as not intruding on their social lives. Age, disease onset, disease duration, and degree of brain atrophy emerged as potential predictors of individual training outcomes, as did intrinsic motivation. All individuals demonstrated improved performance on trained measures of WM and three individuals demonstrated improved performance on select non-trained measures of WM. The findings of this study demonstrate feasibility of implementing Cogmed in pediatric-onset MS patients, warranting subsequent large-scale randomized controlled studies that employ a multimodal approach to data analysis and that pay attention to individual differences that may predict variable training outcomes.
Open Access
A Five-Week Mindfulness Program for Emerging Adults Experiencing Anxious and/or Depressive Symptoms
(2019-11-22) Diplock, Benjamin David; Pepler, Debra J.
Emerging adulthood is the highest risk period for developing mental health issues compared to other periods across the lifespan. Despite this high risk, emerging adults (EAs) experience especially long wait-times for mental health services. Therefore, preventative, evidence-based treatment is needed to enhance coping among EAs. Recent studies suggest a beneficial role for brief mindfulness-based interventions (bMBI) in addressing mental health symptom burden. High-quality research is needed to demonstrate whether bMBIs can provide efficacious treatment to improve the lives of EAs. The current study tested the efficacy of a five-week bMBI baseline within-subject controlled trial. The results of this preliminary analysis indicated that this bMBI was 1) effective in improving psychological distress and wellbeing outcomes and maintaining these improvements one-month following, and 2) that high pre-intervention self-compassion influenced primary outcomes. The current findings lend support for an efficacious preventative strategy and provide direction for increased services n post-secondary education.
Open Access
A Meta-Analytic Review of Gender Differences on Delay of Gratification and Temporal Discounting Tasks in ADHD and Typically Developing Populations
(2018-03-01) Doidge, Joshua Leon; Toplak, Maggie E.
Individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) tend to prefer smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards compared to Typically Developing (TD) individuals. Currently it is unknown if males and females with ADHD differ in their preferences for delayed rewards, although females and males with ADHD appear to manifest differences in symptoms as well as in other cognitive and emotional domains. We used meta-analytic methods to examine gender differences on delay of gratification and temporal discounting tasks in both TD and ADHD samples. There were no differences between TD males and TD females, but males with ADHD were more likely to choose the larger delayed rewards than females with ADHD. These findings indicate a dissimilar pattern of gender differences for those with ADHD compared with TD samples. Implications of our findings are also discussed.
Open Access
A Multi-method Analysis of Intersensory Perception of Social Information in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder
(2017-07-27) Hancock Alli, Lisa; Bebko, James M.
The present study investigated the intersensory processing deficit for social stimuli in individuals with ASD compared to age- and cognitive-ability matched typically developing peers. This deficit was theorized to account (at least partially) for cascading impairments in attention and autism symptomatology across development. The primary goal was to isolate the social and linguistic properties of intersensory (audio-visual) processing using a manipulation of temporal synchrony. In Study One, a multi-method analysis of looking time and proportion of efficient gaze patterns using eye-tracking data from a behavioural task was used. Results provided evidence of a difference in intersensory processing specifically for social stimuli in children with ASD that does not appear to be solely attributable to a deficit in processing faces, language, or body movement. The secondary goal of the project was to provide a better understanding of variables that impact and are impacted by intersensory processing. In Study Two the strength and direction of the relationship between intersensory processing and developmental, diagnostic, and attention variables was assessed. Results showed that impaired intersensory processing for social information appears to be associated with cascading consequences across development including some of the core impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder: disrupted sensory processing, social-communication disability, and slower attentional disengagement. In summary, results of Study One and Study Two are best understood as a specific cognitive-perceptual deficit in social orienting and are consistent with the Intersensory Redundency Hypothesis. The observed intersensory processing differences between groups may be impacted by dysfunctional intersensory integration wherein the most general amodal property, temporal synchrony, is misprocessed at early stages, disrupting selective attention and early social orienting. This impairment impacts the cascading cycle of perception, learning, memory, attention and so on and contributes to core sensory and social-communication impairments associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Open Access
A Program Evaluation of Toronto's Mental Health Court for Youth
(2015-01-26) Davis, Krista Marie; Moore, Tim
In recent years there has been growing concern regarding the mental health needs of young people involved with the criminal justice system. As a result, the Ontario Court of Justice opened its first mental health court for youth in Toronto, Ontario in 2011. Referred to as the Community Youth Court (CYC), the program is designed to provide specialized services to justice-involved youth with mental health needs, including substance use issues. The CYC is one of many mental health courts to have recently been introduced across North America. Despite the rise of such courts, there has been limited empirical research documenting their operation and effectiveness. The current dissertation is comprised of two manuscripts exploring a process evaluation of Toronto’s mental health court for youth. The first manuscript includes a theoretical appraisal of the court’s program model and a qualitative evaluation of program implementation based on service user (i.e., youth, parents) and key informant (i.e., judges, lawyers, mental health court workers, crown attorneys) views of the program. Interviews were conducted using semi-structured interview guides and analyzed using thematic analysis. The second manuscript documents the population served through the court, predictors of program completion, the operations of the court, as well as how the court addresses the mental health and criminogenic needs of youth. Results from the two studies provide insight into areas of strength, including the program’s ability to provide a supportive environment for youth, as well as engage and link youth and their families with treatment. Areas for continued program development are also discussed, with a particular focus on the need to assess and address aspects of criminogenic need in order to help reduce recidivism. Together, these findings provide a framework for an empirically-based mental health court program for youth.
Open Access
A Study on the Effectiveness of I-Sparx for Nunavut Youth: Can an E-Intervention Mental Health Tool in the Form of a Computer Game Improve Emotion Regulation?
(2023-08-04) Barnhardt, Jenna; Bohr, Yvonne M.
This study examines how the e-intervention computer game, I-SPARX, may affect user emotion regulation. I-SPARX was designed for at-risk ᐃᓄᐃᑦ(Inuit) youth to teach cognitive behavioural skills and assist with improving mental health and emotional well-being. Data were collected from 112 ᐃᓄᐃᑦ (Inuit) youth participants from 25 communities in Nunavut who played I-SPARX and completed pre- and post-game outcome measures. Mixed model analysis was conducted at two time points to examine changes before and after playing the game in 6 domains meant to assess learning objectives and skills development: finding hope, being active, dealing with emotions, overcoming problems, recognizing challenging and unhelpful thoughts, and overall wellness. Results showed positive shifts in participant responses across all categories including emotion regulation skill development. This preliminary data is promising, suggesting that I-SPARX could help teach ᐃᓄᐃᑦ(Inuit) youth skills to manage emotions when they are confronted with challenging situations where negative and unhelpful thoughts arise.
Open Access
A Telepsychology-Based Social Competence Intervention for Youth with Learning Disabilities and Mental Health Difficulties During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(2024-07-18) Diplock, Benjamin David; Pepler, Debra J.
Youth with learning disabilities (LDs) have a heightened risk for co-occurring mental health difficulties. The co-occurrence of LDs and mental health difficulties (LDMH) is associated with further risk of adverse impacts on cognitive and academic performance. Therefore, the availability of effective social competence interventions for youth with LDMH is essential to scaffold skill development and prevent cascading difficulties into adulthood. That said, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the immediate pause of most in-person therapeutic services. In response to worsening of youths’ mental health difficulties and the significant challenges that the pandemic created for mental health service delivery, the Child Development Institute in Ontario, Canada, transitioned their in-person Social Awareness, Competence, Engagement, & Skills (ACES) intervention service to virtual implementation. I conducted two studies with the purpose of gathering qualitative and quantitative data to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the telepsychology-based adaptations of Social ACES from the clinician, caregiver, and youth perspectives. Methods: Data collection occurred through in-depth semi-structured interviews of nine Social ACES clinicians (Study 1), four caregivers and four youth who partook in the telepsychology-based intervention (Study 2); lived experiences were analysed using the qualitative approach of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. For a mixed-methods perspective, I also examined outcomes of the intervention through quantitative parent ratings of their child’s social competence pre- post-treatment, augmented by clinicians’ reports (Study 2). The data was triangulated to provide a deeper perspective of the youths’ progress through the program and challenges experienced. Results: The findings resulted in the emergence of four (Study 1) and two (Study 2) major themes, as well as elucidating four integrated youth case studies, to help clarify clinicians’, caregivers, and youths’ perceptions of the adaptation. Conclusions: These studies provided preliminary evidence for the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of virtual Social ACES. The findings have implications for the future of mental health service delivery, raise further questions about the effectiveness of social competence programming during and after a time of significant disruption, and point to several lines of inquiry for future critical research on virtual interventions for children and youth.
Open Access
A Two-Eyed Seeing Approach to Evaluating an eIntervention for Inuit Youth Using Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit
(2024-03-16) Oskalns, Megis; Bohr, Yvonne M.
Inuit youth have one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Presently, there is no culturally appropriate suicide intervention for this population. This study aimed to evaluate the process of developing the I-SPARX CBT e-Intervention, and its content, using Two-Eyed Seeing. Four data sets from the 2018-2019 I-SPARX project were used in this study from four communities across Nunavut: Iqaluit (n=22), Qamani’tuaq (n=3), and Kinngait (n=4). One focus group was held in Tkaronto (n=5) with youth from Iqaluktuuttiaq. Thematic Analysis explored responses to research questions as grounded in the two frameworks —three Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) principles and western CBT skills. Results demonstrated that features of the process of collaboratively developing I-SPARX met principles set out in the IQ framework. Aspects of the process of adapting fit with IQ, with Piliriqatigiingniq (Collaborative Relationships) being the most prominent IQ. Features of CBT underlying the I-SPARX game met principles set out in the IQ framework: the most prominent principles reflected in the content were Pilimmaksarniq (Skills and Knowledge Acquisition) and Qanuqtuurunnarniq (Problem Solving). Both the process and content of the I-SPARX project met criteria for a Two-Eyed Seeing evaluation, meshing IQ principles with western CBT applications. Limitations of this study, that engaged a small sample of Inuit youth, are discussed. Recommendations for future research, include incorporating additional IQ principles to expand on Inuit cultural perspectives. Preliminary results suggest that I-SPARX could be efficacious for contributing to Inuit cultural research in development and evaluation of mental health and wellness e-interventions for Inuit youth.
Open Access
Academic Outcome in Pediatric Stroke: A Multifaceted Approach to Exploring Challenges and Achievements
(2018-11-21) Champigny, Claire Marie; Desrocher, Mary E.
An important cause of acquired brain injury in children, pediatric stroke causes sequelae across a wide range of cognitive domains, including expressive language, attention, memory, and processing speed. As a result, survivors are especially vulnerable to academic difficulties and face unique challenges compared to their peers. Despite this knowledge, pediatric stroke remains an understudied neurological condition, and its impact on school functioning poorly understood. The present thesis addresses academic outcome in pediatric stroke with two manuscripts. The first, a systematic review, explores the tools chosen by researchers to measure academic outcome in this population. An examination of the limitations of research methodologies paves the way for discussions and recommendations for improvement. The second manuscript, a clinical research study, assesses academic outcome using a multifaceted approach. Patients in the Childrens Stroke Program at the Hospital for Sick Children were recruited for participation. Results indicate that, compared to their peers, youth with stroke exhibit deficits in processing speed and basic academic skills, require more school accommodations, and are more likely to receive a learning disability diagnosis. Analyses suggest that processing speed and reading ability predict grades for youth with stroke over and above the effects of intelligence. Finally, school grades, school-related quality of life, and symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder were all comparable between groups. Ending with an overarching discussion connecting both studies, the present thesis makes a meaningful contribution to the field of pediatric stroke and promotes a more nuanced understanding of the academic struggles and achievements that survivors experience.
Open Access
Adolescent and Emerging Adult Help Seeking Using Anonymous Telephone and Live Chat Technology
(2018-03-01) Haner, Dilys Elizabeth; Pepler, Debra J.
Kids Help Phone is an on-demand, single-session, bilingual, free, and confidential service for young people in Canada who seek help for mental health issues and problems of daily living. 232 telephone clients and 230 Live Chat clients responded to the Counselling Client Questionnaire 2 (CCQ-2) to provide a demographic description of the youth who access this anonymous service, and assess and compare the effectiveness of telephone and text-based counselling. Transcripts of counselling sessions were analyzed using the Evidence of Mental Health Symptoms Scale for Adolescents (EMHSS-A) to describe the nature and level of risk associated with the situations clients brought to counselling, particularly as they related to mental health problems. 465 adolescents waiting in queue to access chat counselling responded to the Youth Self Report (YSR) to provide a description of the mental health symptoms of chat clients. Chat transcripts were further analyzed using the Collaborative Interactions Scale (CIS) to assess what works in terms of supporting the therapeutic relationship in time-synchronous text-to-text counselling. More clients had sexual and cultural minority identities than expected given their proportion in the population. 29% and 26% of clients were dealing with high- and medium-risk situations. According to the YSR, 64% of clients scored in the clinical range for affective problems, 56% for obsessive compulsive problems, and 51% for post-traumatic stress problems. Phone and chat clients reported decreased distress and perceived difficulty of their problems, and increased problem clarity, self-efficacy, and hope. Suggestions for how chat counsellors can manage ruptures and repairs in the therapeutic relationship are provided. Keywords: telephone counselling, e-counselling, computer-mediated communication, help-seeking, adolescence
Open Access
Adolescents' Positive and Negative Experiences With Communication Technology and How Adults Can Support Adolescents Who Experience Cyber Bullying
(2016-09-20) Doucette, Jeremy Daniel; Pepler, Debra J.
The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of: (1) how adolescents use communication technology to develop friendships; (2) how experiencing cyber bullying harms adolescents; (3) helpful and unhelpful ways adults respond to cyber bullying; and (4) how adults can provide needed support to adolescents who experience cyber bullying. Through their participation in interviews when they were in grade 10 (n=17) and again when they were in grade 12 (n=6), adolescents: discussed how they use communication technology to develop their friendships; shared how experiencing cyber bullying has harmed them and/or their peers; explained why they would or would not seek support from adults after experiencing cyber bullying; and provided insights into how adults can provide needed support to adolescents who experience cyber bullying. Implications for how parents or guardians, teachers, and principals can provide needed and wanted support to adolescents in their care who experience cyber bullying are discussed.
Open Access
An Evaluation of Social Cognition and Social Emotional Outcomes Following Pediatric Stroke
(2021-11-15) Feldman, Samantha Jean; Desrocher, Mary E.
Following stroke, children experience cognitive sequelae, which may have a consequential impact on a childs functional outcomes and quality of life. An under-appreciated element of pediatric stroke is its impact on social cognition and, in turn, social-emotional outcomes. Stroke characteristics have been reported to be associated with social cognitive ability and social functioning. Neurological factors and their effect on social cognition remain to be better characterized. The objectives of the present research are to assess the impact of these stroke characteristics on social-emotional outcomes and evaluate social cognition as a mediator of this association. The study results indicate that having a left hemisphere stroke predicts the likelihood of a child experiencing poorer social-emotional functioning, and that this association is fully mediated through social cognition. This work signals the importance of evaluating stroke characteristics when attempting to develop recovery phenotypes and the value of assessing for social cognitive deficits following stroke.
Open Access
An Examination of the Factor Structure of the Neonatal Facial Coding System and the Modified Behaviour Pain Scale
(2018-03-01) Di Lorenzo, Miranda Gabrielle; Riddell, Rebecca
Diverse behavioural cues have been proposed to be useful indicators of infant pain, but there is a paucity of evidence based on formal psychometric evaluation to establish their validity for this purpose. We aimed to examine two widely-used pain scales, the Neonatal Facial Coding System (NFCS) and the Modified Behaviour Pain Scale (MBPS), by examining their factor structures with factor analysis. The results indicated that an item reduced NFCS scale with three items produced a one-factor pain model that maintained the good psychometric properties of the 7-item scale. In addition, it was found that MBPS also has challenging internal consistency, with items that are weakly correlated and highly redundant. Redefinition of MBPS with a single indicator was suggested. This analysis provides new iterations of NFCS and MBPS that improve construct validity and internal consistency. These versions also increase the feasibility of both measures and improve their potential for clinical use.
Open Access
An Examination of the Role of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation On the Link Between Social Anxiety and Well-being
(2022-12-14) Onorato, Paolina Rose; Rawana, Jennine
Although there has been a recent shift to investigating interpersonal emotion regulation (IER), there are still key aspects of IER to understand generally and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examining how individuals, including those with social anxiety, utilize and think about IER can provide insights into how this type of emotion regulation can impact well-being. It is crucial to investigate IER during the pandemic since in-person interpersonal interactions may have been disrupted due to physical distancing. Thus, the current study examined the relations between social anxiousness, IER, and well-being during this time. Emerging adults (n = 674) completed measures related to social anxiousness (social interaction, performance, and scrutiny anxiety as well as avoidance), IER (tendency and efficacy for positive and negative emotions), and well-being (subjective happiness, life satisfaction, and flourishing). Through a structural equation mediation model, it was demonstrated that social anxiousness is inversely linked to well-being and IER, and IER is positively linked to well-being in the context of the pandemic. Importantly, IER acted as a partial mediator on the link between social anxiousness and well-being. These results have implications for intervention including the development of student IER workshops to enhance the well-being of socially anxious university students while transitioning back to in-person learning.
Open Access
An Examination of the Structure and Common Correlates of Three Domains of Contaminated Mindware in Adolescence and Young Adulthood
(2020-05-11) Rizeq, Jala Ramzi George; Toplak, Maggie E.
Limited research has examined individual differences in the accumulation of misinformation and unwarranted beliefs, known as contaminated mindware. The three unwarranted beliefs examined in this dissertation are paranormal, conspiracy, and anti-science beliefs. These beliefs remain prevalent in the public despite their epistemically suspect or unsubstantiated nature. This dissertation focused on the psychometric properties of items measuring individual differences in unwarranted beliefs to address three research objectives: (1) examine the underlying dimensional structure of unwarranted belief items in adolescents and young adults, (2) examine individual differences predicting susceptibility to these beliefs, and (3) examine differences between adolescents and young adults with respect to these beliefs. Study One examined the underlying structure of individual differences in unwarranted belief scores and its correlates in a sample of young-adults. Study Two confirmed that the same structure and correlates are found in adolescents. Both studies demonstrate the multidimensional nature of unwarranted beliefs that form domains of contaminated mindware. Specifically, the optimal factor model among adolescents and young adults was a hierarchical factor model with three correlated general factors (paranormal, conspiracy, and anti-science beliefs) and four specific paranormal factors (i.e., psi, superstition, spiritualism, and precognition). Further, we observed unique effects of individual differences in thinking and reasoning on individual differences in unwarranted beliefs. In Study Three, we assessed the measurement invariance of these scales across the two developmental groups, to allow for cross-sectional comparisons and age associations. The paranormal and conspiracy scales were characterized by strict invariance and the anti-science scale was characterized by strong invariance. With respect to developmental comparisons, endorsement of the unwarranted beliefs did not differ across development, except for a small difference in paranormal belief. Further, the unwarranted beliefs total scores were not associated with age. We discuss the novelty of the results within the belief literature on contaminated mindware and focus on the utility of this scale for future research.
Open Access
An investigation of parenting responses to toddler distress: Interactions between parent physiology, behaviour, and socioemotional context
(2023-12-08) Badovinac, Shaylea Danica; Pillai Riddell, Rebecca
This dissertation examined physiological, behavioural, and psychological aspects of parents’ responses to children’s distress across infancy and toddlerhood through a series of three studies. Study 1 is a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the literature that characterized parents’ physiological responses to infants’ and toddlers’ (0-3 years) distress during experimental and naturalistic distress paradigms and examined concurrent associations between parents’ physiological and behavioural responses. General trends in parents’ physiological responses varied as a function of methodological factors including the physiological outcome (i.e., cortisol, cardiac outcomes, skin conductance, salivary alpha amylase), distress paradigm (e.g., fear-related distress, frustration-related distress), and baseline comparison condition used. Studies 2 and 3 used data from a sample of caregiver-toddler dyads (N=234) studied in a naturalistic high-distress context (i.e., toddler routine vaccination) to address the limitations and gaps in the literature identified in Study 1. Study 2 described the validation of a measure of insensitive (i.e., distress-promoting) caregiver behaviour during routine vaccination. Measure validity and reliability were investigated with correlations and autoregressive cross-lagged path analysis. Study 3 characterized the trajectory of caregivers’ physiological (i.e., high-frequency heart rate variability) responses during routine vaccination and associations of the trajectory with parents’ concurrent behaviour and psychological stress. Findings across all three studies are discussed in the context of the extant literature and relevant theoretical models. Clinical implications and directions for future research are offered.
Open Access
Applied behaviour analysis in Taiwan: Examining How parents of children with autism perceive and select intervention options
(2021-11-15) Ho, Hilda Sze Wing; Perry, Adrienne
Although many different types of autism treatments exist, very few are grounded in evidence. Interventions based on applied behaviour analysis (ABA) have received substantial evidence supporting their efficacy and community effectiveness and are considered to be best practice for children with autism. Despite this, a gap exists in the implementation and usage of these services in many parts of the world, including Taiwan. Through a mixed methods research design consisting of two phases, this dissertation explored factors that contribute to the selection or avoidance of ABA-based intervention. In phase 1, a survey methodology was used to examine the knowledge and attitudes about autism and ABA-based services, as well as to explore the service utilization patterns of parents of children with autism in Taiwan. In phase 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants (i.e., parents who had previously selected or were currently using ABA-based interventions, educators and ABA service providers) to clarify and elaborate on the quantitative results obtained in phase 1. The findings from this dissertation indicate that level of knowledge about ABA was significantly related to the selection of ABA-based services, over and above other parent characteristics (i.e., parent attitudes toward ABA and parent knowledge about autism) and child characteristics (i.e., autism severity, maladaptive behaviour, adaptive behaviour, and diagnostic status). Specific factors contributing to this knowledge gap were identified at the parent level, at the intervention level, and at the systems level. The clinical and policy implications are described in this dissertation with respect to each of the barriers identified.
Open Access
Are Popular Observational Maternal Sensitivity Measures Consistent in their Assessment of Maternal Sensitivity in North America?
(2017-07-27) Lee, Yookyung; Bohr, Yvonne M.
This study examined three observational maternal sensitivity measures, Emotional Availability Scales (EAS; Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1998; Biringen, 2008), the Parent Child Interaction Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training Feeding Scale (NCAFS; Barnard 1978; Oxford & Findlay, 2015), Mini-Maternal Behaviour Q Sort (MBQS; Moran, Pederson & Bento, 2009), to determine the degree to which they measure sensitivity as defined by Ainsworth (Ainsworth Maternal Sensitivity Scales (AMSS); 1969). The measures were administered to the same sample of 50 diversely functional European American mother-infant dyads, including the scales and subscales of the measures that were deemed to measure sensitivity for analysis. EAS, NCAFS, and MBQS were significant predictors of Ainsworths sensitivity (AMSS); however, the role of socio-economic status varied across the measures. The findings suggest that three of the most frequently used observational maternal sensitivity measures may not measure identical features of sensitivity and should perhaps not be used interchangeably.
Open Access
Aspects of Intensive Behaviourial Intervention Quality and Their Relationship With Child Characteristics and Outcomes
(2016-11-25) Blacklock, Oksana Ksusha; Perry, Adrienne
Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) is currently the treatment of choice for young children with moderate to severe Autism Spectrum Disorders. Research has examined different aspects of the intervention, though there is a paucity of information on the quality of IBI. This study examined the York Measure of Quality of IBI (YMQI) in 39 children receiving publicly-funded IBI in Ontario for approximately one year. Videos (n = 402) of children engaged in IBI were coded using the YMQI. A factor analysis showed that the YMQI measures different aspects of IBI quality: Pace and Organization, Technical Correctness, Engagement and Motivation, and Generalization. All of these subscales remained fairly stable, within the good quality range, over approximately one year in IBI, with relatively lower Generalization scores. An examination of the relationships between the YMQI subscales and childrens characteristics at the start of IBI showed that children with more autism symptomatology at the start of treatment receive intervention lower in Engagement and Motivation at the beginning of treatment. In terms of the connection of IBI quality to childrens progress, there was a relationship between Technical Correctness at the start of treatment and greater decreases in autism severity, as well as relationships between Generalization and childrens gains in cognitive skills and decreases in autism severity. Finally, the change in autism symptomatology was predicted by three of the trajectories of quality subscales throughout the year. These results help operationalize the quality of IBI more precisely and have implications for IBI training, supervision, and research.
Open Access
Associations Between Early Childhood Attachment and Maternal Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
(2018-11-21) Badovinac, Shaylea Danica; Riddell, Rebecca
The current study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze concurrent and longitudinal associations between maternal depression and anxiety symptoms and mother-child attachment during early childhood (aged 2 to 7 years) as assessed using the coding systems by Cassidy and Marvin (1992) and Main and Cassidy (1988). The review was pre-registered with PROSPERO and followed PRISMA guidelines. A total of 7,969 records were screened and 20 articles were deemed as eligible for inclusion in the review. Studies were reviewed using qualitative synthesis techniques and meta-analysis. Results indicated that higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms were consistently associated with disorganized/controlling child attachment behaviours. No significant association was found between maternal anxiety symptoms and child attachment. These results suggest that maternal depressive symptoms may confer risk for disorganized/controlling attachment during early childhood. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.